Chapter 68: A Simple Investment

The next morning, Chu Lin was half-awake when he received the game notification about the refreshed animal spawns on the Atlantis map. Rubbing his aching head, he muttered to himself that he definitely couldn’t attend any more Fisheries Bureau banquets on the public dime. Director Wang and his people could really drink—like human wine barrels. He thought his own tolerance was decent; after all, when he and Huang Bin went to bars to pick up girls, if you didn’t outdrink the girls until they were dizzy, how would you ever get the chance to make a move for love?

Yet even he had been overwhelmed yesterday. After washing up, he logged into the game map and transported the newly spawned prawns, oysters, and blue-ringed jellyfish out of the game. Adding the ones he’d already taken out that morning, there were more than two thousand blue-ringed jellyfish in total.

Not long after breakfast, Liu Fa arrived to collect the goods and deliver them to Zhizhen. When the payment from Zhizhen came in, Chu Lin checked the transaction details and allowed himself a faint smile:

“Your account ending in... Income: 1,051,000.00 yuan. Balance: 10,065,138.15 yuan.”

He was finally a multimillionaire again. Naturally, if he counted his assets, he had even more. Chen Feng and the Fisheries Bureau people had claimed that “Lin Feng Aquatic Pets” had investments of several tens of millions. Last night, Liao Hai got drunk at the Fisheries Bureau’s banquet and posted on his social media: the “Lin Feng Aquatic Pets” with investments exceeding one hundred million had officially set sail.

By their calculations, his four million for five percent meant the company was worth eighty million in total. Yet with the technology included, a valuation of one hundred million was probably modest. The key was, their arguments sounded perfectly reasonable.

Then Zhu Xin got drunk too and posted an even more exaggerated update, claiming “Lin Feng Aquatic Pets” had launched with over two hundred million in investment!

Now he finally understood why so many investment figures online were inflated. It was all just hype. As the saying goes, entrepreneurs must know how to boast. Only if you believe your own hype can you get your partners to believe it; only then will investors believe it. Once your partners and investors believe, the company gets off the ground and eventually the customers do too. If you succeed, your boasting becomes the truth. But if you fail, the higher you’ve boasted, the more spectacular the fall and the ridicule.

Lost in these thoughts, he heard the sound of car horns outside the fish farm. Chen Feng’s Maybach drove in, with Zhu Xin and the aquaculture technician Li Yan from Chen Feng’s shop in the car. Behind the Maybach was the aquatic pet transport truck that had been there twice before.

“Brother Lin, the equipment for the two breeding ponds at Lin Feng is all in place and has been tested,” Chen Feng said anxiously as he got out. “So I’m here to pick up jellyfish and fish.”

Chu Lin smiled. “I know you’re eager, but isn’t it a bit too early in the morning for this?”

Chen Feng sighed. “It’s not my idea. Yesterday, Liao Hai and Zhu Xin got drunk and bragged on social media that ‘Lin Feng Aquatic Pets’ got billions in investment. Now our whole social circle is in an uproar. Some of our rivals are just waiting for us to crash and burn, so we have to work harder and deliver results quickly.”

“Wait, wasn’t it two hundred million? How did it become billions?” Chu Lin asked, baffled.

Chen Feng rolled his eyes. “Those two insisted on continuing the party at my villa. Of course, they got even drunker.”

“…” Chu Lin was speechless for a moment and then waved them inside. “Come on, let’s go get those jellyfish.”

Chen Feng nodded, motioned for Li Yan to bring the netting equipment, and followed Chu Lin inside. This was Zhu Xin’s first time here, and when he saw the crystal-clear water in the breeding tanks, he was astonished. “This water is incredibly clear! But I don’t see any filtration equipment.”

Before Chu Lin could answer, Chen Feng jumped in to explain, “No question about it—Brother Lin must have installed underground filtration systems. That’s the latest foreign technology; it costs a fortune!”

“What’s underground filtration?” Chu Lin asked in surprise.

“You didn’t use underground filtration?” Chen Feng was suddenly embarrassed. “Then how is the water so clear?”

The first time he’d visited, he’d assumed the clarity came from expensive imported technology (chapter 15). But it seemed he’d guessed wrong.

“I honestly don’t know anything about underground filtration,” Chu Lin said. “If you’re wondering why the water is so clear, I just have my own methods.”

He was no longer worried about this question; after all, the Atlantis kelp already covered for him.

Realizing his mistake, Chen Feng quickly changed the subject out of embarrassment: “Uh, the jellyfish seem extra lively this time.”

Chu Lin let the matter drop and asked, “Where’s Liao Hai? Didn’t he come with you?”

“He went to pick up our big sister,” Chen Feng explained. “Yesterday we promised Director Wang to settle the back wages for the former fish farm workers. I’ve already asked Director Wang to contact them.”

“It’s best to have a lawyer present for matters like this, to sign all the proper documents. Besides, Director Wang said most of the workers are willing to return. They’re experienced with the farm and with aquaculture, which is much better than hiring strangers. Of course, they’ll need to sign new contracts, and big sister will bring the templates.”

“Good,” Chu Lin nodded.

Since the legal matters had been outsourced to his sister, it made sense to let her handle anything that involved legal issues.

...

At Li Quan Law Firm, Chu Ran had already prepared the debt settlement contracts and the employment agreements for her brother’s company.

The phone rang; seeing it was Liao Hai, she answered.

Liao Hai’s voice came through: “Big Sister, I’m already in the parking lot. Just let me know when you’re coming down and I’ll drive up to the front entrance.”

“I’m coming down now,” Chu Yan replied and hung up.

She didn’t mind that he insisted on calling her “Big Sister” to join the fun. After all, society ran on relationships and goodwill—no one hits a smiling face. As long as she did her job well and knew her place, that was enough.

Just as she was about to head out, her supervisor approached, bringing along a young, fresh-faced girl. “Chu Yan, heading out for business?”

“Yes, supervisor,” she nodded.

The supervisor smiled. “Perfect timing. You already know Xiao He, our firm’s intern. She’ll be shadowing you from now on.”

“Huh?” Chu Yan was momentarily stunned.

At the firm, only senior lawyers were assigned interns—which really just meant extra hands for errands and unpaid labor, like fetching coffee or handling dry-cleaning. It was a perk of seniority.

Many law students dreamed of making tens of thousands a month, commanding respect, and scaling the heights of success as soon as they entered the workforce. In reality, even at top firms, interns only earned three thousand and did nothing but menial work.

The other lawyers in the office were equally surprised. Chu Yan was only a level-two lawyer, not yet senior—how had she been assigned an intern? Did this mean she was about to leave the open-plan desks and get her own office?

At Li Quan, having a private office was also a privilege reserved for senior lawyers.

The supervisor smiled. “Alright, don’t just stand there. You’ll be busy with this new business anyway.”

“Of course, supervisor,” Chu Yan replied, understanding the reason—it was because she’d reported her brother’s company’s legal work as a package deal. She didn’t mind, so she turned to Xiao He, “Come on, Xiao He, let’s head out on a case.”

“Yes, Lawyer Chu. Let me carry your files for you,” Xiao He said eagerly, picking up the documents and following Chu Yan out of the office.

The other lawyers couldn’t help but envy the scene.

The supervisor smiled to himself. This was a simple but effective investment. A startup valued at eighty million had just handed over all its legal business to Chu Yan—this was no ordinary connection. If the company took off, all its future business would be theirs. Even if it didn’t, anyone capable of founding such a company was bound for big things, making them a valuable client for the future.

...